Lightshade

Fourteen Years, One Brand, and a Creative Strategy That Kept Paying Off

The SERVICES

Brand Strategy · Brand Evolution · Creative Direction · Advertising · Web · Photography Direction · Video Direction · Marketing · Email · SEO · Environmental Design · Merchandise

The TEAM

Produced in partnership with Hybrid Marketing Co.
Tyler Jacobson – Marketing Director
Aaron Rosenbluth – Content Director
Adam Mendez – Art Director
Dan Curtis – Creative Producer

INDUSTRY

Cannabis Retail (Colorado)

The STORY

I’ve been working with Lightshade since 2012, back when Colorado’s cannabis market had no playbook and everyone was writing the rules in real time. A lot of nervous energy, and an audience that ranged from lifelong enthusiasts to people who’d never set foot in a dispensary and weren’t sure they wanted to. It was a genuinely interesting creative problem, and exactly the kind of challenge I love.

Most cannabis brands at the time were leaning hard into the same tired visual language. Lightshade wanted something different: a brand that felt trustworthy, polished, and authentic. Something that could stand next to any well-run retail brand and hold its own.

The Challenge

Growing market share in a brand new industry sounds exciting, and it was, but it wasn’t simple. The audience was wide open, and that means your creative has to work for almost everyone. First-time consumers, medical patients, traditional stoners, curious skeptics. The brand needed to speak to all of them without watering itself down in the process.

The goal was straightforward even if the path wasn’t: build a brand people connect with, bring in a broader audience, and grow revenue in a market that was evolving faster than most businesses could keep up with.

MY CONTRIBUTION

I led strategy and creative direction across the full Lightshade brand, and I mean full. Brand strategy, brand development, advertising, web, email, SEO, photography direction, video direction, environmental design, merchandise. Over fourteen years, I’ve touched pretty much every corner of this brand.

Working alongside a tight team at Hybrid Marketing Co., we functioned less like a vendor and more like an embedded creative department. That kind of relationship, where trust builds over years instead of weeks, is where the best work comes from. You stop pitching and start building.

The Work

Everything we made started with strategy. The visual identity was built to feel premium without feeling cold. Campaigns were designed to reach new audiences without alienating the core. Email and SEO kept Lightshade visible and relevant as the competitive landscape got more crowded every year. Photography and video gave the brand a lifestyle dimension that most dispensaries weren’t even thinking about yet.

It was the kind of work that doesn’t always make a loud splash in the moment. It just quietly makes the brand stronger every single year.

The Results

In 2018, our strategy and creative work contributed to a revenue increase of over 30%. That kind of jump does not come from a campaign. It comes from a brand foundation that was finally solid, messaging that was sharp, and execution that stayed consistent across every channel. Then, during the pandemic, our team responded fast to a moment of real uncertainty, delivering new strategies that kept customers coming in and drove another major revenue increase at a time when many businesses were struggling.

But honestly, the number I’m most proud of is fourteen. Fourteen years with one client is rare. It means the work kept performing, the relationship kept working, and the brand kept growing. That’s what good creative strategy actually looks like over time.

Revenue Growth in 2018

0 %

Revenue Growth in 2020

0 %

Year Partnership

0 +

From the Archives - Lightshade Delivery Campaign

Launch of delivery services for Lightshade, featuring former Denver Broncos star, Reuben Droughns. The delivery campaign was inspired by retro pizza delivery commercials.

Campaign execution included: